The first female to score 1,000 points in basketball at RHS, O’Connell was also a spark plug of the Maroons’ unbeaten (29-0) state champion softball team in 1983. She shared the 1985 RHS Award of Excellence in Athletics with Margaret Scutro. As a freshman, she was a starter in three sports- basketball, softball, and field hockey.

She earned four letters in basketball at Western Kentucky University and ranks third all-time at the school in games played (130). She is the head golf professional at Island Dunes Country Club in Jensen Beach, Florida, and was named to the Ladies Professional Golf Association and was named the 2002 Professional of the Year by the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division.